The Central Governmnt will set up 31 universities, eight IITs and seven IIMs as part of its efforts to promote higher education in the country, announced Prime Minister during his visit to Jaipur. He also committed to 20 regional engineering, five Indian Science Institutes, two planning and structural colleges, 10 NITs and 1000 polytechnics. He blamed the state government for a lackadaisical approach towards SSA scheme.
The PM was addressing a select gathering of invitees at Subodh College in the city.
Delhi University has joined the Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window Lot 15 (EMECW15), designed to fund higher education, student and teaching staff mobility activities between 12 European universities and eight Indian universities. The consortium aims to create a partnership for research and development to strengthen academic cooperation between India and the European Union (EU).
Union Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has signed an agreement with the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, to work on a project for ‘International migration and diaspora research’ at its Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies. Economics Professor Binod Khadria, a reputed scholar in the field of international migration, will head the research project.
In a move expected to give a much needed boost to the education sector, the Union Cabinet has cleared the Right to Education Bill that makes free and compulsory education a fundamental right for all children between the ages of 6 and 14. It will now soon be tabled in Parliament for approval.
The Rajasthan Knowledge Corporation has launched a digital literacy drive, under which a network is proposed to be set up throughout the State beginning with district and sub-divisional headquarters and going down to villages with a population of 2,500 and above. The Corporation has signed agreements with ten computer-based industries as programme support agencies for working with the 1,000 IT ‘Gyan Kendras’ (knowledge centres) to be established across the State for evolving an institutional mechanism to develop the trained youth manpower with basic IT skills.
The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) has issued new guidelines for reforming the US’s schools with the help of technology. SETDA’s ‘Class of 2020: Action Plan for Education’ has urged policy makers and school leaders ‘to take bold steps … to improve education for America’s 21st-century leaders.’
Japan’s top universities are falling victim to the global financial crisis that has caused US$ 964.6 billion in write downs and losses at financial institutions. Keio University said it has 22.5 billion yen (US$233 million) in unrealised losses on investments ranging from hedge funds to real estate investment trusts. Waseda University said it expects a 500 million yen loss on investments as of March to deepen significantly.
Ghanaian Education Ministry has urged the students to take advantage of the opportunities offered by ICT to enhance their knowledge and use it for the development of the nation. Sofia Awotwi, Director, Science Resource Centre, Education Ministry, said, ‘ICT had become more important because of the information it provided people. Hence the Education Ministry is emphasising on ICT training in schools as part of the current education reforms in the school curriculum.’
Education solutions provider Educomp Solutions has been awarded a work order from the Karnataka government for implementation of computer-aided Education in 708 PU colleges in the state. The order is valued at INR 50.27 crore to be executed over five years. Educomp has also bagged an order for 347 government hostels from Chattisgarh government for implementation of computer-aided education programme.
Asia’s first revolutionary Library Management Software System based on SaaS (Software as a Service) model has been launched by CR2 Technologies Ltd. CYBRARIAN – is a next generation web based, seamless and fully integrated Library Management software System hosted on a remote server. This is based on SaaS (Software as a Service) concept where users have to pay–as-you-use basis.
Education technology agency Becta has launched its Next Generation Learning campaign website, in an effort to ensure that parents, learners and schools are getting the most out of technology when used in education. The website enables users to find out innovative ways in which technology is already being used in schools, to improve motivation and results. An example of this is John Cabot Academy in Bristol, where students are using PlayStation Portables (PSPs) in PE lessons to see how their long jump techniques compare to professionals.
Nokia announced the latest Nokia Life Tools application, targeted at rural phone end-users consumers. The service will be piloted in India before the year ends and then to other parts of Asia and Africa by early next year. Life Tools is specially designed for the local markets and will offer education services along with agricultural information.
As part of the Egyptian Education Initiative, Intel has launched its digital education content platform ‘skoool.com.eg’ in collaboration with Edu Systems International (ESI), in Egypt. The award-winning skoool technology for digital online learning is the flagship website of the multimedia, multi-device learning solutions produced by the Intel Innovation Centre and is set to be rolled out across schools in Egypt Commenting on the launch, Salah Elewa, Director of Technology Development Center, said, ‘Providing local e-content to students at a young age underpins the need for students to have access to the right tools at their fingertips at an early age. The skoool.com.eg platform offers math and science modules tailored to the Egyptian curriculum, and can greatly benefit all students and schools in the country by providing excellent teaching standards.’
The International Children’s Digital Library (ICDL), which is the world’s largest collection of children’s literature available freely on the Internet, announced the release of the ICDL for iPhone application. The ICDL for iPhone application allows users to take advantage of the advanced capabilities of the iPhone and iPod Touch user interface to read a selection of books from the ICDL’s master collection of thousands of children’s stories from 60 countries.
Chipmaker Intel Corp is further expanding its successful IT-assisted teacher-training programme in Malaysia. Intel said it has trained a small but significant percentage of teachers in the last eight years and hopes to double that to 100,000 teachers over the next five years.
Vietnam’s ‘Using VSAT IP Solution to Bring Broadband Internet to the Countryside’ solution won a silver medal at the Asia Pacific Information and Communications Technology Awards 2008. APICTA is the annual awards initiated by the Multimedia Development Corporation of Malaysia to increase ICT awareness in the community and assist in bridging the digital divide in the Asia-Pacific.
The Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) has opened its seventh e-Learning center in Loyola Heights under its eSkwela project. The CICT, through its Human Capital Development Group (CICT HCDG), launched eSkwela in 2005 to provide disadvantaged youth with educational opportunities to help reduce the digital divide and enhance their capacity to be successful participants in a global and knowledge-based economy. The Loyola Heights center received an enrollment of 55 learners, mostly aged below 20.
Since its independence in 1945, education has always figured prominently in Indonesia's national developmental policy. Its importance is highlighted through Article 31 of the Amended Indonesia Constitution, which identifies education as one of the key rights of its citizens. Further, the education sector is given a priority focus in Indonesia's budget, receiving an allocation of a whopping 20% to the total budget outlay for 2008-2009.
Several ICT programmes have been initiated in Indonesia's higher education. These are: are Global Development Learning Network (GDLN), Indonesian Higher Education Network (Inherent), Jardiknas (National Education Network), Indonesia-Managing Higher Education for Relevance and Efficiency (I-MHERE), e-Education, etc.
